August 7-9 marked the 40th anniversary of the Regina Folk Festival. While there were arguably not as many marquee names as in past years, the lineup was solid nonetheless. Sandra Butel and company deserve many kudos for putting on such a stellar festival year after year. The Folk Fest is usually the musical highlight of my year, at least in terms of local shows, and this year proved no exception. The Folk Fest is hands down the best music environment to be a part of. There is always so much positive communal energy in one place. Victoria Park is the perfect setting for a weekend of live music and, aside from Friday night, the weather was very cooperative.
I never had a chance to see every act that performed but I will give a rundown of some of the artists that caught my eye. So here we go.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Basia Bulat kicked off the proceedings with a perfect set, showcasing her strong, vibrant vocals while alternating between acoustic guitar, aytoharp and ukulele. Yes.. ukulele. Ever since Tiny Tim went tiptoeing through the tulips the ukulele hasn’t exactly been the hippest of instruments. But Basia makes the ukulele sexy again. A perfect opening to the Folk Fest.
http://www.myspace.com/basiabulat
Mark Berube and the Patriotic Few put on a very short but sweet teaser set. Piano is the main instrument of choice, but they round out their sound with flourishes of accordian, bass and guitar. I never had a chance to check out a full set from this act but I would definitely take the time to see them when they come to the Exchange on October 15.
http://www.myspace.com/markberubemusic
Plants and Animals were absolutely phenomenal. I’m embarrassed to say that I wasn’t familiar with their music before Friday night so I really had no idea what to expect. A good starting point with this band is the track “Bye Bye Bye” which sounds like a cross between Queen, the Flaming Lips and Sgt. Peppers-era Beatles. I am now a huge fan.
http://www.myspace.com/plantsandanimals
Delhi 2 Dublin were easily my favourite act of the weekend. Again I had absolutely no idea what to expect. The wonderful thing about festivals is that bands you may not give a chance otherwise can blow you away upon seeing them. This band is no exception. D2D are a band that fuses Celtic and Punjabi music with electronica, folk and hip hop. An Asian man wearing a kilt and playing a sitar only begins to describe this band. Most people think of folk festivals as a bunch of singer/songwriters strumming away on acoustic guitars but these guys and gal put on one helluva SHOW. They had the crowd dancing and grinning from ear to ear. Definitely my highlight of the weekend.
http://www.myspace.com/delhi2dublin
Unfortunately, with pleasant surprises must come big disappointments. And my biggest let down of the weekend was Iron and Wine, aka Sam Beam, who was the victim of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. He sounded great. He really did. And he started with one of my favourite songs ever: his cover of “Such Great Heights” by the Postal Service. However, I got very bored very quickly listening to a guy play sleepy acoustic tunes after such a high energy act as Delhi 2 Dublin. (I was so bored I actually left for a bit and ended up missing K-OS’s show.) If they swapped spots in the lineup it would’ve been perfect. Oh well. I’m still a fan. Just bad circumstances I guess.
http://www.myspace.com/ironandwine
SATURDAY
Chad Vangaalen played a fantastic set of upbeat acoustic pop. I wasn’t too familiar with his material beforehand, but songs like “City of Electric Light” and “Sing Me To Sleep” are great songs to listen to while washing the dishes. And I mean that as a compliment. He plays at the Exchange on October 8 so I plan on checking it out.
http://www.myspace.com/chadvangaalen
Royal Wood played a teaser set and was really impressive. He has a very rich, crooner voice and plays a mean piano. His set didn’t start off the way he wanted since his piano wasn’t plugged in so he began the set unwittingly singing acapella. However, being the pro that he is he just joked about it and carried on without even batting an eye.
http://www.myspace.com/royalwood
Socalled put on the most “interesting” show of the festivals, hands down. Socalled is the brainchild of rapper/accordian player/magician Josh Dolgin. He truly is a genre unto himself. I am still at a loss for words in trying to describe his band’s show. For starters, the man looks like a cross between Weird Al Yankovic, Billy Nye the Science Guy, a mad scientist and a pedophile (I guess there is no nice way of putting that...). Let’s just say he looks eccentric. His band is extremely tight and sound phenomenal. If you put hip hop, circus music, Frank Zappa and a clown in a blender you might get close to describing this band’s sound. And I guess he performed magic tricks for the kid’s stage on Sunday. Insert your own jokes at will.
http://www.myspace.com/socalled
Bedouin Soundclash really impressed me this year. I saw them a couple years ago and was very underwhelmed, so their performance was a pleasant surprise. Maybe their new drummer and horn players had a hand in rounding out their sound this year. At any rate, their unabashed blend of Clash-y punk and ska sounded great outside on a nice Saturday night.
http://www.myspace.com/bedouinsoundclash
SUNDAY
Volcanoless in Canada put on a really fun show on the Scarth Street stage in the afternoon. Their brand of indie/acoustic/pop/rock was definitely one of my highlights. These guys have so much energy onstage, spewing witty banter between songs and bringing out a drum set into the crowd for their last song. These guys are definitely worth checking out if you have the chance. And they’re from Saskatchewan so what more could you ask for????
http://www.myspace.com/volcanolessincanada
Loudon Wainwright III was simply brilliant. To be honest, I’m more familiar with his acting (Knocked Up, Big Fish), and his offspring’s music (Rufus and Martha) than his music, but he seemed like an artist that I HAD to see if I had the chance. And he put on a great show. It was just him and an acoustic guitar, but it was all he needed. He has a wicked, biting, sardonic sense of humour and knows how to get a crowd eating out of the palm of his hands. His song about the airport worker who caused him to go without his guitar for a couple of days was worth the price of admission alone.
Corb Lund capped off the weekend with a bang with his old school brand of country music. If every contemporary country artist was this good, I would be a HUGE country fan. Mr. Lund is nothing fancy: just good ol’ literate rootsy/folksy/country tunes.
http://www.myspace.com/officialcorblund
Phew! That’s it for this year’s Fest. Unfortunately for me, the end of Folk Fest pretty much signifies the end of summer. But what a way to end the summer! Other people may feel AC/DC is ending the summer of 2009 but I'll just agree to disagree. ;)
Once again, Sandra Butel and her crew deserve a big thanks for putting on such a wonderful event. Can't wait for next year. Perhaps they could book Tom Waits next year. One can dream, right?
...submitted by JJ
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